In general, radio controlled or "U" controlled model aircraft require hinged control surfaces identical in operation to those used in full scale aircraft to control pitch, yaw and roll. The hinge arrangement of the present invention performs such functions while eliminating a number of drawbacks inherent in presently used model aircraft hinges.
Current conventional hinges used on model aircraft structure are generally a one piece solid plastic flex type or a pair of solid plastic members joined by a metal pin. To operatively attach these hinges to the aircraft requires slotting the edge of the fixed structure of the aircraft as well as the edge of the associated control surface to insert and cement therein the respective tongue portion of the coacting hinge members. To assure that each tongue portion is secure within its respective slot, a pin or dowel is inserted through the aircraft structure perpendicular to and through each of the tongue portions.
Although conventional hinges provided with a metal pin can be disassembled after mounting, it is a tedious and difficult operation especially in the field, often resulting in damage to the hinge and control surface. It is not uncommon to have a conventional hinge come apart from vibration during flight with obvious disastrous results to the model aircraft.
The present invention is an improved hinge arrangement eliminating many of the problems associated with conventional model aircraft hinges. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an improved hinge arrangement comprises a hinge member attached to a fixed structure of the model aircraft and formed with a lateral keyhole slot adapted to removably engage a lateral barbell portion of a coacting hinge member attached to a control surface of the aircraft. The present invention provides a hinge arrangement with a relatively large mounting surface to attach the individual hinge members to the aircraft without the requirement for slotting the edge of the fixed structure of the model aircraft and the edge of the associated control surface. The coacting hinge members of the present invention are manually and separately aligned in an operative configuration on the associated aircraft structures and then their respective mounting surfaces are cemented directly to the aircraft without the necessity of modifying aircraft structure. Whenever necessary, the two coacting hinge members may be disengaged by simply rotating one member relative to the other a predetermined amount in either direction, to allow the lateral barbell portion of the hinge member attached to the control surface to be withdrawn from the lateral keyhole slot in the hinge member attached to the fixed structure of the aircraft. Assembling the hinge is accomplished by reversing the procedure to disengage the hinge members as hereinafter disclosed.